The nurse’s eyes shone with pity as she hugged her clipboard to her chest. Her mouth quivered before she finally spoke, her voice quiet—yet it landed like a death knell.

“I’m sorry, ma’am… the baby is gone.”

The sentence sliced straight through me.

My lungs locked. My chest tightened until it felt like I couldn’t breathe. My throat burned, but no scream came out. I only stared, frozen, as if my body refused to accept what my mind had just heard.

Then my hands moved on their own.

They flew to my stomach, clutching desperately, as though I could still find the warmth of the life that had been there only hours ago.

But there was nothing.

Empty.

My baby—my last fragile thread of hope—was gone.

Not because of an accident.

Not because of fate.

Because of them.

Because of Darian.

Because of the cruelty of the man I had once called my husband.

I never asked for this.

I never wanted to lose my child. I had swallowed humiliation after humiliation, endured the insults, the manipulation, the endless gaslighting, because I thought I could at least keep my baby safe.

I thought that if I held on long enough, if I stayed quiet long enough, if I suffered enough… then at least my child would survive.

But now?

Everything was gone.

And the worst part was, even if I hated Darian with every piece of my soul, the baby was not him.

The baby was mine.

A part of me.

A heartbeat.

A life.

And no matter how broken I was, I never wanted that life to be taken from me.

My hands trembled against my stomach as if my palms could somehow undo what had happened. My lips shook, and the words that fell out were so small they barely sounded like speech.

“I’m sorry…” I whispered. “I’m so sorry, baby. I should’ve protected you. I should’ve fought harder. Please… forgive me.”

Hot tears slid down my face as guilt swallowed me whole.

It wasn’t fair.

My baby had done nothing wrong—yet paid the price for the monsters surrounding me.

The door creaked open.

I looked up.

Darian walked in.

His face was blank, unreadable, like he’d stepped into the room to discuss paperwork instead of the fact that I had just lost my child. His gaze flicked to the nurse for a second, then settled on me with cold indifference.

“You need to get yourself together,” he said flatly. “There’s going to be a press conference. You’ll apologize publicly.”

I stared at him as if I hadn’t heard correctly. My lips parted, trembling. “Apologize…?” My voice came out broken. “Why would I apologize when I didn’t do anything?”

“You did,” he snapped. “You were responsible for the food.”

“No!” I choked out. “It wasn’t me! The maid cooked it. I only served the plates. I would never poison anyone—never!”

Darian’s jaw tightened. His eyes darkened, sharp with rage. “I don’t care,” he said. “The guests are already preparing to sue. If you don’t clean up this mess, they’ll send you to prison.”

My whole body shook. My voice dropped into a cracked whisper. “I lost my baby because of you.” Tears spilled again. “I was pregnant, Darian. Pregnant. And now I—”

He cut me off with a scoff.

“So what?” he said, like my grief was an inconvenience. “It was just a baby. Don’t use that to manipulate me.”

His words were poison, each one stripping away whatever was left inside my chest.

He leaned closer, lowering his voice until it was only for me.

“If you refuse again,” he murmured, breath cold against my ear, “then I’ll have to kill your mother. Or your brother. Do you want that?”

My body went numb.

He always knew where to strike.

My mother.

Inigo.

The only people I was still trying to protect.

A long, defeated breath slipped out of me. My eyes closed for a second, and when I opened them again, there was nothing left to fight with.

“Fine,” I whispered.

Not long after, a maid entered carrying a plain dress and a compact of powder. She didn’t look at me with sympathy. Only obedience. Only duty.

They pulled me to my feet and forced me in front of a mirror.

A comb dragged through my hair too roughly.

Powder was dabbed over my bruises, over the swelling, over the marks on my face as if makeup could erase what Darian had done.

But no matter how much they tried to fix me, the woman staring back didn’t look like a wife.

She looked like a ghost.

My dress was lifeless. My eyes were swollen. My body looked fragile, hollow, ruined.

I didn’t look human anymore.

I looked like someone who had already died and simply hadn’t stopped walking yet.

When I was pushed onto the stage at the press conference, dozens of cameras flashed in my face like knives. Reporters whispered to each other, hungry and eager, waiting for me to break.

A paper sat in my shaking hands.

Darian’s script.

My throat felt scraped raw, but I forced the words out anyway, reading aloud like a puppet.

“I… I want to apologize for what happened at the dinner party. It was my fault. I should have been more careful. I never intended to hurt anyone. I take full responsibility.” My voice cracked. “Please… please don’t send me to jail. I’m begging you.”

The room erupted.

Questions flew at me.

Laughter.

Judgment.

Disgust.

I lowered my head, biting my lip until I tasted blood. Tears blurred the letters, but I forced myself to finish.

Because if I didn’t…

My mother would die.

My brother would die.

When I finally stepped away from the podium, it was already done.

The damage was permanent.

The whispers followed me like blades scraping against my skin.

She’s the culprit.

She tried to poison them.

She should be grateful Valeria forgave her.

By the time I returned to the mansion that evening, I felt like I was walking through a nightmare that wouldn’t end.

I stepped into the living room—

And froze.

Valeria was sitting comfortably on the sofa, sipping tea like she belonged there. Like the house was hers. Like I was the intruder.

She looked up and smiled warmly, her eyes dripping with fake kindness.

“Vivienne,” she said, standing as if she was welcoming me home. “Thank you for what you did today. I know it must have been difficult, but it was for the best.”

Her voice turned even softer, sweet as honey.

“Don’t worry. I’ll do everything I can to make sure your mother is well taken care of.”

Her words stabbed deeper than anything else.

I should have screamed.

I should have lunged at her.

I should have ripped that smile off her face.

But I had no strength left.

All the rage, all the grief, all the pain—everything inside me had been drained until there was only emptiness.

Instead, I lifted my hand slowly to my finger.

The wedding band.

Darian’s ring.

The ring I’d once worn like it meant something, like it proved I mattered.

Like it made me his.

With steady hands, I slid it off.

Then I stepped forward and placed it into Valeria’s palm.

Her eyes widened, shocked.

I looked her straight in the face, even as tears threatened to spill again.

“Don’t worry,” I said quietly. “You won’t have to think about me anymore.”

Valeria blinked. “Vivienne…”

My lips curved into a bitter smile.

“Because you’re never going to see me again.”

She stared at me, stunned.

I held her gaze for one last heartbeat.

“Enjoy being the wife,” I said.

Then I turned around and walked away—

Leaving behind the final piece of myself I had ever handed to Darian Smith.

I tore through my drawers like my life depended on it—because it did.

My hands shook so badly I could barely grip anything as I yanked out files, clothes, envelopes—anything that might hide what I needed.

My passport.

It had to be here. My only way out. The only proof I still had a right to leave, a right to choose where my life went next.

But the drawer was empty.

And the lock box I kept it in? Broken. Forced open. The metal latch bent as if someone had crushed it out of pure spite.

“No…” I whispered, my throat tightening as panic crawled up my chest.

I searched again anyway, desperate enough to believe it might magically appear if I just looked harder. I threw papers across the floor, scattering them like fallen leaves. I checked under stacks, behind folders, even inside shoes.

Nothing.

Then a sharp, bitter smell drifted through the window.

Smoke.

My breath caught. I rushed to the glass and shoved it open.

Down in the yard, flames danced wildly, licking at a pile of fabric. My stomach twisted.

Clothes. My mother’s clothes.

I bolted down the stairs, nearly tripping over my own feet. The heat hit my face immediately, but I didn’t think. I didn’t even breathe. I just ran.

And there it was.

Her shawl. Her nightgowns. The soft sweaters I folded carefully every week, the only thing I could still do for her while she lay trapped in a hospital bed.

All of it burning. Turning to ash.

My lungs refused to work. My chest seized.

Beside the fire stood Valeria, arms crossed, smirking as if this was a show she had been waiting for.

“What are you doing?!” I screamed, charging forward.

A maid grabbed my wrist, holding me back.

“Ma’am—please!” she whispered urgently, eyes darting like she was terrified of being caught. “It was Valeria’s order. She said this room is hers now. She doesn’t want any of your things left. She… said you wouldn’t care, because you’re useless.”

Useless.

Even now, after everything, that word landed like a slap.

I turned to Valeria, fury ripping through me, vision blurring. “You had no right! Those were my mother’s things! How dare you!”

Valeria only shrugged, as if I were throwing a tantrum over something trivial. She tilted her head, amused.

“Relax,” she said lazily. “This house needs renovations. Your clutter was ruining it. Honestly, you should thank me. Once this becomes my room, everything will finally look perfect.”

My hands curled into fists. I took a step toward her, but before I could speak, her fingers tangled in my hair.

Then she yanked.

Pain exploded through my scalp, a cry ripping from me.

“You still think you can stand against me?” she hissed, hot and venomous against my ear. “You should’ve died the moment your mother fell into that coma. At least then Darian wouldn’t have wasted years pretending with you.”

My blood boiled. I lifted my hand, ready to strike—

But a shadow fell over us.

Darian.

His eyes were sharp, blazing with anger.

For the first time, hope sparked. He saw it. He finally saw what she was doing.

But the fire in his gaze wasn’t for her. It was for me.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he snapped.

“She started it!” I cried, voice cracking. “She burned my mother’s clothes! She—”

He didn’t let me finish. His hand clamped around my arm, hard enough to bruise. Then he shoved me so violently I stumbled back into the wall.

“You never learn,” he growled, dragging me back into the house like I was nothing but a problem to put away. He slammed the bedroom door shut behind us, locking it with a sharp click.

Then his palm cracked across my face. The slap was so hard my head snapped sideways. My cheek burned instantly.

“You are not leaving this room unless I say so,” he said coldly. “And you will finish the designs for tomorrow.”

Tears filled my eyes—not from pain, but from humiliation.

“Darian… I—”

“If you try anything stupid,” he cut in, voice like ice, “your family dies.”

I froze.

His eyes darkened as he leaned closer. “Your mother. Your brother. Gone. Do you hear me?”

My whole body went numb. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. All I could do was nod.

Satisfied, he stepped back. “Good.”

Then he left.

The sound of the lock echoed in my skull like a prison bell.

I slid down the wall, trembling. My cheek throbbed. My throat burned. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying not to fall apart.

Hours passed.

Then my phone vibrated weakly against the floor. Unknown number. My heart lurched.

I stared at it before answering with shaking fingers.

“Vivienne.”

My body froze. That voice.

“Inigo?” I whispered.

“Yes. It’s me.” His voice was rushed but steady. “I got out. Inigo helped. We’re moving Mother tonight. She’ll be safe.”

Relief slammed into me so hard I almost sobbed.

“Oh my God… Inigo—please, get me out. I can’t stay here.”

“I will. Tomorrow. Hang on until then. Just survive.”

“I’ll wait,” I whispered.

The call ended.

I wiped my face and forced myself to stand.

If Darian wanted designs, fine. I would give them. But not my future.

I went to the desk and opened every file. Every sketch. Every blueprint. Everything he’d forced me to create. My fingers moved fast, copying, saving.

Not just designs. Proof. Evidence. Every stolen transaction. Every forged signature. Every illegal deal he’d hidden behind my work.

I transferred it all to a flash drive. Then I sent everything to Inigo. Along with one message: Expose him. End him.

After that, I called the investors myself. My voice came out calm even though my hands shook.

“Cancel tomorrow’s signing. You’ll receive proof soon.”

The night dragged on. Hunger meant nothing. At one point, I slipped quietly into the hallway, hoping for food or water.

Instead, I heard it.

Moaning. Soft laughter.

Valeria. Darian.

My stomach twisted. Bile rose in my throat. I backed away, skin crawling, returning to my room. I clutched the flash drive and stared at the clock, praying for midnight.

When Darian finally returned, tie loose, expression smug, he found me at the desk.

“Who told you to get up?” he demanded. “Are you done?”

“Yes,” I said evenly. I handed him a flash drive. A copy.

“Good. Tomorrow, you’ll present it yourself. Convince them. If you fail, everything collapses.”

The next morning, I woke before dawn, heart racing. Maybe Inigo would get me out before Darian noticed.

But Darian forced me into the same car as him.

“There’s a private meeting before tonight’s signing. Top shareholders. Yacht. You’re coming.”

My chest tightened. “Can’t you go alone?”

“No. We leave together so I know you won’t run.”

I texted Inigo quickly: Change of plans. They’re taking me on the yacht first. Please… help.

The yacht gleamed under the sun. I stood by the railing, gripping the metal until my knuckles turned white. The sea stretched endlessly. Free. Vast. Unreachable.

“Thinking of jumping?”

Valeria.

“What do you want?” I asked tightly.

She leaned closer. “Just reminding you… after today, you disappear. Understand?”

I turned to her, anger burning so hot it hurt. “Why? You already have everything. My father’s dead. My mother is helpless. My brother went to jail. You even have Darian. You ruined my life. What more do you want? My death?”

Valeria tilted her head, eyes glittering with cruel amusement. “Honestly? Now that you mention it… maybe that’s not a bad idea.”

My blood turned to ice.

She smiled wider. “I’m the one he’s loved since we were kids. You were a placeholder. Darian will always protect me. You can’t win. Time to say goodbye.”

Before I could move—she shoved me.

The railing slipped. My body lurched forward. The world tilted. The sea rose to swallow me whole.

The wind screamed past my ears. Cold water wrapped around me, dragging me down into darkness.

I closed my eyes. Finally.

As I sank deeper, I triggered the emergency signal.

A slow smile curved my lips even underwater.

Because I knew I had done it.

Soon, I would be free.

Soon, I would escape this place filled with darkness, control… and betrayal.